Best Wedding & Elopement Location in Joshua Tree National Park

Best Wedding & Elopement Location in Joshua Tree National Park

Wedding Photographer: Mike Federis Photography

Hidden Valley Campground is our favorite location in Joshua Tree National Park for weddings and elopements. This location provides most of the variety that you would see within the 800,000 acres of Joshua Tree National Park. If you are planning to elope or host a small and intimate wedding, this is our go-to location due to it’s accessibility and picturesque backdrop.

Best Spots within the Hidden Valley Area:

• Hidden Valley Picnic Area

• Hidden Valley Nature Trail

• Small Boulders within the campgrounds

• Open area east of the Hidden Valley Picnic Area (best for sunset photos)

How to get to Hidden Valley?

We recommend entering from the West Entrance Station, which is located near Joshua Tree City. The drive from the west entrance to Hidden Valley is about 11 miles. However, you can also take the North Entrance, which is located in 29 Palms or the South Entrance which is the longest route (approximately 58 miles).

Entrance Fee?

The cost to enter the park is $30 for a 7-day pass for each vehicle. They only accept credit/debit card. You can also pre-purchase an Annual National Park Pass “America the Beautiful” which provides you annual access to all the National Parks in the United States.

Amenities?

There are pit-toilets throughout the National Park. Unfortunately, there are no vending machines and stores within the park. We recommend brining your own food and stopping by the Joshua Tree Visitor Center (6554 Park Blvd, Joshua Tree, CA 92252) which is located before the West Entrance. The Visitor Center has restrooms, small gift shop and restaurant with refreshments.

If you are really adventurous and want to spend the weekend in Joshua Tree, you can actually camp at one of the 44 site within the Hidden Valley Campground. Unfortunately, the camp sites are first-come, first served, but you can reserve a campsite from the following campgrounds: Blackrock, Cottonwood, Indian Cove, Jumbo Rocks, and Ryan. These campsite are very inexpensive and typically cost between $20-$25.

One of main reasons why we love this location is the large boulders and rock formations, these boulders don’t only make for photography backdrops but provides some needed shade from the sun if you are planning to elope during the harsh summer wedding in Joshua Tree National Park.

The second reason is parking, there area has ample parking within the lots compared to the other sites within Joshua Tree.

This site also has pit toilets which are also essential if you plan to change outfits.

The last reason why we love this location are the views! Our favorite spot to photograph during sunset is near the Hidden Valley Picnic Area. You can capture amazing sunset photos towards the west of the picnic area. We love capturing wide-angle photos of our couples to show of the majestic landscape of the Joshua trees.

Best Places for Engagement Photography Locations in Southern California | Mike Federis Wedding Photography

Best Places for Engagement Photography Locations in Southern California

Today we’re looking at the best places for engagement photography locations in Southern California. These are my top photo locations for couples who love to travel and don’t mind a bit of an adventure. Let’s get to my top picks!

1. Glamis Sand Dunes

   If you are up for an adventure, Glamis Sand Dunes also known as Algodones Dunes is one of the most epic locations on this list. The dunes is about a 3 hour drive from Los Angeles. This desert oasis will make you imagine that you are in the middle of the Sahara Desert due to its 40 mile stretch of soft sand. Be prepared to run around and slide down like a 10 year old.

2. Balboa Park, San Diego

Balboa Park in Sand Diego, California is one of my favorite locations to photograph couples! With over 1,200 acres, Balboa Park offers so much variety from museums, interesting architecture, and beautiful gardens. One of my favorite spots to photograph couples is in front of the Botanical Building. The Botanical Building provides an amazing backdrop while the lily pond provides leading lines and beautiful foreground to images.

3. Big Bear Lake

Big Bear Lake is my favorite lake among the numerous lakes in the San Bernardino Mountains. This place is beautiful all year round. The lake is about a 2 hour drive from Los Angeles, but well worth the drive. The most convenient spot at Big Bear Lake is at Juniper Point. You will need an Adventure Pass ($5 from Big 5 Sporting Goods for a day pass) to park here. Juniper Point is on the north shore of the lake and offers amazing views of the mountain range. Make sure you check out the Alpine Pedal Path which leads you all the way to the Stanfield Marsh Boardwalk.

4. Joshua Tree National Park

If you are looking for a desert theme, no look further than Joshua Tree National Park. Joshua Tree National Park is about a 2 hour drive from Los Angeles. To enter the park, you will need to pay an entrance fee of $30 per vehicle. If you have a National Park Pass, that will get you in the park for free. Once you enter the park, you are greeted with hundreds and thousands of these cool looking Joshua Trees. There are so many great places to take pictures here, it’s hard to choose. Be prepared to drive since the park is massive; it takes about an hour to drive from the West Entrance to the South Entrance of Joshua Tree.

CONTACT US

Are you ready for an Adventure? Or maybe have some questions? Reach out and we’ll love to chat with y’all!

Joshua Tree & Coffee Shop Engagement Photography Session | Brad & Silva

BRAD + SILVIA

Engagement Photography Session

Date: 02.08.20

Locations:

• Augie’s Coffee, 300 E State St #100, Redlands, CA 92373

• Joshua Tree National Park

Vendors:

• Photographer: Mike Federis Photography

This is true story about a young couple that fell in love at Starbucks! Seriously, how romantic is that? They are definitely coffee connoisseurs and they know their stuff. They also agree with me Starbuck’s Coffee is pretty basic and the local coffee shops like Augie’s, Arcade’s Coffee Roasters, Lift Coffee are they way to go.

So it was a no brainer that an engagement session at a local coffee spot like Augie’s is the perfect location. Since they chose Joshua Tree National Park as their engagement destination, we decided to stop at Augie’s Coffee in Redlands and capture some candid photos of them just hanging out. Unfortunately, the original location with the “red” building is now leased by another coffee shop. The new location is located on State Street inside the commercial building. As usual, the place was packed but do offer outdoor seating with tables. We all missed the original, small quaint building. It was just so iconic. After getting our coffee fix, we headed out to Joshua Tree National Park.

The drive is about 2 hours from Redlands. If decide to enter via the North Entrance, there is usually a line since visitors are purchasing tickets, asking questions, etc. You can enter from Palm Springs side, but there is not much on the south side. In addition, the drive to the major attractions from that entrance is a bit far. So I recommend entering via the Main Entrance and purchasing National Park Pass. This is so worth if you decided to visit the park multiple times. To enter the park without a National Park Pass is about $30. The National Park Pass “America the Beautiful” is $80. I highly recommend arriving at the park 4-5 hours before sunset. You will have to do a bit of driving to get from one location to the next, especially if it’s your first time.

Here are some of my favorite spots:

• Hall of Horrors

• Skull Rock

• Jumbo Rocks

• Cholla Cactus Garden

• Keys Views

Another recommendation for all you photogs out there is to invest in a pop-tent! If your client is planning to do multiple outfit changes, this will save you time and provide comfort for your clients. Joshua Tree attractions are spread out and sometimes the restrooms are not most ideal places to change outfits.

Our plan was to shoot at Jumbo Rocks, Skull Rock, and Cholla Cactus Garden. We knew we may not make it to Cholla Cactus Garden since it’s about a 30-40 minute drive from Skull Rock. So we made the most of our time at the other locations. However, there are so many places where you can just pull over to the side of the road and take pictures.

After the long journey to Joshua Tree, we ended the day at my favorite fast food restaurant, In-N-Out Burger. We managed to capture some great candids here as well!

Here’s what Brad & Silvia have to say about their Engagement Session:

What were your top 3 photos from the engagement gallery?

Our 3 best photos are attached to this email :)

What was the biggest surprise of the day?

The Biggest surprise of the day for us was seeing how beautiful Joshua Tree and the Scenery.

What was your most anticipated part of the day?

We think the most anticipated part of the day was getting a perfect shoot in which we got a bunch of course and now we can't choose just one!

What ended up being your favorite part of the day?

Climbing up the rocks and seeing the amazing view and actually being tall for once.

What were some of your favorite engagement details?

Brad- "Being able to surprise her in which i walked up behind her and got to dip her and give her a surprise kiss"

Silvi- " My favorite engagement detail is running up behind brad and jumping on his back getting that smile out of him"

Describe Augie's Coffee and why did you choose that location?

we picked Augie's Coffee because we meet and feel in love at a coffee shop, but Starbucks is to gross to re-live

the moment we first laid eyes on each other. #upgrade

P.S there coffee is to die for!

Describe the Joshua Tree National Park and why did you choose that location?

We both share that creative spark for adventure & we feel Joshua tree had an edgy, yet beautiful scenery that fit best with our personalities and tastes.

How did you feel after the day ended?

We were very exhausted but yet very excited to see the magic Mike created with us that day, we loved every minute of it

What did you like most about working with Me (Mike)?

We feel, Mike was very "engaging" and professional, as well as creative and friendly with our engagement session. all in all we strongly feel like we've gained a friend through our engagement session with Mike.

What are you looking forward to the most as an engaged couple?

Enjoying this journey and being able to count down the day till we become one with each other.

being engaged is a big step towards saying "I WILL" im looking forward to the journey of building a stronger relationship with my one, and far ahead after they become my only and my forever

What advice would you give to future bride and grooms looking to plan an engagement session?

Be spontaneous, get excited and love love love your future spouse! the more spontaneous and excited you become leading up to the engagement session, the more fun you will have!

Check out their Wedding Website and learn more about their story! Plus, they have an AWESOME honeymoon fund that I encourage you guys to support!